Early American History & Colonization

This assignment delves into the foundational aspects of early American history. It examines the beginnings of European colonization, contrasting religious beliefs between various groups like Puritans and their impact on societal development. The influence of trade, exemplified by the Jamestown colony's struggles, is analyzed alongside significant events such as Bacon's Rebellion, highlighting its social and political repercussions.

Running head: AMERICAN HISTORY
AMERICAN HISTORY
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1AMERICAN HISTORY
Answer 1- The European colonization began in 1942, when the Spanish mission leaded by
Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus sailed into west to find a new trade route in the Far East
but unintentionally reached on a land which came to be known as the “New World”. On 5
December 1492, people were running around the northern part of Hispaniola, where initially the
Taino people had inhabited ever since the 7thy century and gradually the place became the first
European settlement in the Americas. Various other powers like France has also got colonies in
the Americas also founded colonies in the Americas; in eastern North America. Portugal tried
colonizing the eastern coasts which is known as Canada in the present day. The Native
European, American and African societies have independently developed over thousands of
years before they have experienced straight contacts with one another. Therefore before meeting
each other they all were colonizers who started exploring to reach new land. (8-10, 30).
Answer 2- The oldest European religious belief came from their beliefs that they drew on a form
of animism. They mainly had their faith on nature, i.e. the sun, stones, animal’s winds, all
animated by spiritual forces. These beliefs made European people to develop localized cults of
knowledge and spiritual practice. Men and women developed rituals in order to protect their
communities, ensure about the harvests, and treat illness and to fight their enemies. They
followed Christianity which grew out of Jewish monotheism, i.e. to belief in one God.
Christianity was their official language. Like America the West Africa also followed the spiritual
sources as well. However the Fulanis in Senegal, the Mande-speakers in Mali and the Hausas in
northern Nigeria, they have learned about Islam from Arab merchants and Muslin leaders called
imams. Nevertheless most Africans acknowledged multiple gods, as well as spirits that lived in
earth, nature and animals. On the other hand Sudanic civilization believed in their own tradition

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monotheism which is completely from Muslims, Christians and Jews. Therefore the majority of
the Sudanic people in West Africa, who lived in stratified states ruled by princess and kings who
were graded as divine. This socio cultural and religious belief has affected their perception on
life, as each place has different history and background and their customs as well, similarly
various religious belief has different rituals and therefore it has different paths and views. Islamic
religion which follows Quran has different beliefs than Bible and therefore the perception
changed. Different cultures and religious belief gives a different set of goals for the people (18-
22).
Answer 3- Commerce played a huge role in European, West African and Native American
societies, Western Europe before their contact with America were the barbarian fringe of the
civilized world. Merchants from the Italian city-states of Genoa, Pisa, Venice and Florence
started to push their way to Arab-dominated trade routes of the Mediterranean. These trades
helped them to carry luxuries of Asia into the European markets. On the other hand the West
Africans made their primary marketing from trans-Saharan trade. The Europeans sailors made
their way along the coast of West and Central Africa, and further stumbled upon with political
landscape. This is how they came together and further planed their commercial growth. This
innovation of theirs further allowed them to sail far toward Atlantic, where they colonized and
discovered the Azore and the Madeira islands. Through this commerce trade they end up
travelling and discovering various places and hence expanded their drive. This way all of them
came together and through this trade they communicated with each other (22-24).
Answer 4- The factors of colonizing experiences differed from place to place, depending on a
mixture of social, economical and political factor. The religion and economic were the two most
important factors in the colonization experience. The European attention in the Americas

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basically took shape under the manipulation of Spain’s conquest of the Aztec and the Inca
empires. Spain had the most powerful monarch in the America and Europe, who wished to
improve themselves with the world’s natural resources. They enslaved the indigenous people in
the southern parts and of the Americas to grow crops and mine for silver, gold and other valuable
(28-30).
Answer 5- The investors in Virginia Colony was unhappy because of the accomplishment of
their colonists. It failed due to bad environment, exhaustion in their four month voyages. They
suffered from various disease and even famine. They did not have fresh water which resulted in
the destruction of plant crops. After settling on a marshy peninsula, only 38 of 120 men were
alive after nine months. Death rates remained high and by 1611 they almost lost everything
(Wertz, 2017). The social factor was also one of the main causes of their failure. The male
colony did not to farm with the Native Americans and be dependent on them. Their plan to
dominate the local population became against them. Another factor was geographical factors, as
they had no towns near them due to which they lost more people as they could not take help from
any other towns and suffered a lot (40-43).
Answer 6- Bacon’s Rebellion was a revolution in 1676-1677 in opposition to American
Independence and the colonial government in the Virginia Colony taking over revenge for
assumed thefts by the Native Americans. It caused due to imperialism, in the early 1600s South
America was mostly controlled by Portugal, however North America was mostly untaken.
England wanted to establish its own empire but in England the population was ignitng and there
was limited land for the poor. As more and more colonies established in America, it provided
with religious freedom, new trading opportunities and land. Another cause was that Europeans
brought colonization of system with them, mainly to produce income. New England fought its

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war with Virginia, Metacom, was tormented by a rebellion that had nearly collapsed its
government. There was a huge clash in cultures; distrust rose between the population of that
region and the indigenous population, several other causes like low price for tobacco, rise of
taxes which they believed as injustice, disputes in lands. Therefore all these caused a huge effect
on the society and politics of Virginia, as there was Declaration of the people set as a example
for future Americans to achieve equality, it also affected the tax system as the taxes were
reduced (56-58).
Answer 7- The Puritan’s success can be credited to two main factors, i.e. the nature of religious
belief and also the fact that they came into the New England, largely as family groups. Their
religious belief is very strong and they believe in working hard and improving themselves and
their society. Puritans also believed in physical word which was full of supernatural forces. They
did not believe that they could achieve salvation as according to them their destination is
predestined. They all were together in a religious quest. It was easy for them to establish an
ordered society as they were small in number and have courageous members and leaders in their
group. This helped them to achieve in the adverse environment of the New England. New
England was also dependent on the rock of the Puritan family religiously and economically.
Women were given responsibilities of their children to grow into virtuous and courageous
Puritan adults. They gave these moral lessons and incorporated it into their everyday life. Even
though they had patriarchy driven work and devotion in the family but the main proof in their
success in the New England was in their harmonious marriage and children whom they
considered to be godly, which fell under the influence of Puritan women, and thereafter these
aspirations and rules in their system brought them success (52-54).

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References:.
Wertz J, (2017). The Native American Experience. Google Books. Retrieved 28 August 2017,
from https://books.google.co.in/books/about/The_Native_American_Experience.html?
id=ooQDPQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y